Arrington de Dionyso and Larkin Grimm tour West Coast, possibly in your living room? (go check)

Spending January on the West Coast? Tired of traditional love songs sung in boring old English? Well then you’re in for a treat, as the one and only Arrington de Dionyso will be traversing up and down the Western seaboard (with a few early stops in Arizona) to bring his personal brand of indigenous-inspired Indonesian love ballads to a venue that you’ll need to ask a 19-year-old for directions to.

Dionyso recently visited the world’s largest Muslim nation, and this round of performances is said to be inspired by that experience. It should be interesting to see how Arrington’s live show presents itself following the visit, seeing as his 2011 album Suara Naga (#39 on TMT’s Favorite 50 Albums of 2011) was reportedly written as a declaration of love to a woman living in Indonesia, for whom Arrington went out of his way to learn the native tongue. Sure, anyone could pick up Indonesian in a few hours, but still, he must really like her.

Joining Arrington on some of the dates is his backing band, Malaikat dan Singa, while on others, he’ll be sharing the bill with ethereal (and sometimes spooky!) songstress Larkin Grimm. Grimm will be playing tunes from her forthcoming release, Soul Retrieval, due in February. If you can find the improvised art space that they’ll be playing on any given night this month, you’re surely in for a good time.

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has struck out into the popular and profitable world of entrepreneurship and started his own record label, Chigliak, an imprint of Jagjaguwar. The name is a reference to Northern Exposure (Vernon loves Northern Exposure). In a 2010 interview with Pitchfork, Vernon said of the label, “It’s like a ‘lost records’ thing … totally unsigned shit that never went anywhere but is incredible.” The label’s first release will be a re-issue of a record by Wisconsin electro-pop band Amateur Love, with following releases from 12 Rods and Sarah Siskind.

In related news, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon is following this writer on the popular social networking website, Twitter. This is perhaps because he simply enjoys reading updates that include both the words “boner” and “metaphysical,” but it is also possible that he takes spiritual guidance from my wizened quips. It is possible, even, that this entire record label venture began in reaction to a recent tweet of mine. In any case, I wish Mr. Vernon the best of luck with his collection of baffling obscurities.

According to the Tibetan Calendar, 2012 is the Year of the Water Dragon. I’m pretty damn jazzed about it. Remember Gyarados, the water dragon Pokémon, one of those cards everyone wanted but hardly anyone could find? Having a Gyarados card made you a badass, so the Year of the Water Dragon has to be badass too, right?

Probably not, because let’s just be real, that sort of logic doesn’t work. But still, what better way to celebrate the new year than with a concert — specifically, the 22nd annual benefit concert for Tibet House, an organization dedicated to preserving the culture of Tibet? According to Consequence of Sound, Philip Glass will act as the show’s artistic director and curator, and so far the lineup includes James Blake, Laurie Anderson, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, and Rahzel. More artists have yet to be announced; past lineups have included the likes of Patti Smith, The Flaming Lips, The National, Sufjan Stevens, Lou Reed, and Sigur Rós.

The show will take place on Monday, February 13 at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and tickets are available through Carnegie Charge (212-247-7800) as well as at the Carnegie Hall Box Office. Tibet House is also offering special benefit package tickets, which include prime seats as well as admission to a post-show dinner party. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that you’ll probably have to leave your Gyarados at home.

Sandwell District, we hardly knew ye. Or at least I didn’t until about October of last year, when I first came across their extremely solid self-titled label compilation, which now appears to have doubled as a chune-laden death knell. After nine years of a relatively low-key existence releasing mostly 12-inch productions, the anonymously-based underground techno label has decided to formally dissolve, with no reason(s) specifically highlighted. In a December 31 blog post on their website/Tumblr page, it’s revealed that, effective immediately, “regular audio communications from Sandwell District will cease,” and that “all vinyl artefacts have been decommissioned.”

The message goes on to mention the possibility of “future, albeit irregular, print communications with audio accompaniment,” but admits that “details — and indeed content — is [sic] uncertain at this moment in time.” The post ominously concludes, “Stasis is death. See you on the other side.” Wait… my stasis? Their stasis? See who on what other side? Am I arriving first or are they? Should I bring a change of clothes? What kind of weather should I pack for? More information, please!

Also posted on December 31 was a mix, presumably by former Sandwell constituent Silent Servant, featuring artists such as Delia Derbyshire, Throbbing Gristle, HTRK, and John Maus. The entire tracklist can be found on their Tumblr page, but feel free (because it is) to download the mix directly, here.

hi, my name is jerry, i got one extra ticket to the radio head show at hp pavilion hit me up if interested. willing 2 part with tix for face value or 1/2 price for one (we’d be sitting together then). radio head are prob my favorite band along w/ creedence elliott smith and m83, the later of which put on the best show of my life last month lol. also into ultimate frisbee, vintage cars, stuff like that. pretty easy going dude who likes to rock out in small doses.

so like i said hit me up if you want to go to the san jose show on 4/11. i already got tix for 4/9 in seattle, 4/12 in santa barbara, and 4/14 + 4/21 at coachella (so killer) but my sis got dibs on those so i really just need san jose covered. get at me will have fun peace ~jerry~

Attention man friends, woman friends, dog friends, and plant friends: the tangled troubadour which ye love, Diane Cluck, is back in the song-sharing spirit after a long public silence following the early-00s collections on Important Records and 2005’s lovely and overlooked Countless Times. In the intervening years, new songs were almost certainly still planted and harvested, but likely only reached the microscopic ears of the slowly simmering zucchini in Ms. Cluck’s kitchen. For 2012, Diane has decided to leave the door ajar for half the year and let anyone listen who’ll lend an open ear and a bit of money.

The “Song-of-the-Week” project will proceed as you might imagine — starting in March, Diane will grace subscribers’ inboxes with a brand-new song each week for six full months, resulting in 24 songs released by the end of August! Tentative listeners can sign on for a single month at a low rate ($10) while true beliebers can get all the songs for $50, plus there’ll be the occasional video and a subscriber-only message board to talk about the songs and make requests for the remaining weeks. Please don’t attempt to say this is a bad idea; it’s a great idea, Joe, and your baseless negativity has no place here.

To make the project feasible, Diane is hoping to raise $15,000 by January 30, which will be used for the developing/hosting/engineering/etc. of all these songs (see a detailed rundown here). In the vein of Kickstarter (but more homebrewed and less associated with funding sleepovers), different subscription levels beyond the ordinary are available and sound supremely worth it: $75 gets you two physical CDs with proper mastering, lyrics, and artwork signed by Diane, and still larger donations will be rewarded with hand-drawn illustrations, personalized songs (!), and live shows in your own backyard.

As of yesterday, the Song-of-the-Week project is 45% funded, and I’m going to be really disappointed in our readers if it’s not 89% funded by Wednesday. Cluck’s songs are open and direct in all the right ways, aloof and mysterious in others, and always mesmerizing and personal. Diane says on the project’s page to “tell cats, bats & rats.” Consider the rats informed.